LIGONIER — Ligonier Valley completed the regular season Friday night with a dominating 54-21 win over North Star.
With the win, Ligonier (7-3) awaits its first-round opponent next Friday in the District 6 class AA state football playoffs.
Jackson Corcoran led the way for Ligonier Valley with 227 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, while Russell Markosky also scored three times on the ground in the dominating effort.
“They (North Star) deserve a lot of credit,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. “I think big plays and first downs were the difference in the game.”
The Mounties connected early and often, both with sustained drives and even more so with a one-play strikes. The first two scores came off the back of workhorse runner Corcoran, who seemingly ran through wide-open holes in the Cougars defense for scores of 56 and 46 yards in the first quarter.
“Our offensive line played pretty well (Friday night) and Jackson runs well up the jet trap. It’s a play he likes, and it allowed us to run north and south,” Beitel said.
North Star was able to stay within striking distance for much of the first half thanks to the 1-2 punch of quarterback Max Strasiser and his brother, wide receiver Tony Strasiser.
The two connected several times throughout the course of the night.
“We were really afraid of getting into a shootout with them because we knew they could strike quick,” Beitel said.
With Ligonier Valley out to a 7-0 lead on Corcoran’s first touchdown run, North Star took its only lead of the contest at 3:23. After the Cougars fumbled on their first offensive possession following a drive that ended inside the Mounties 10-yard line, North Star drove the field and finished with a 3-yard run by Bryan Zborvancik. Max Strasiser ran in the two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead.
Again Corcoran hit the hole on Ligonier Valley’s jet play and John Jones ran in the two-point conversion to give the hosts a 15-8 lead after one quarter.
In the second, Ligonier broke the game open with three touchdowns. Jones and Corcoran each finished drives 1-yard touchdown runs, and each time the point after try failed.
North Star’s second touchdown came from Josh Kuncher, who scored from
5 yards out.
Ligonier Valley’s only pass of the game was a 40-yard touchdown from Jones to Markosky for the final score of the half.
Markosky added the two-point run for the 35-14 halftime advantage.
Markosky scored twice in the third quarter, on runs of 3 and 12 yards, and Luke Crumrine scored on a 6-yard run for the Mounties in the fourth.
The final Cougars score came off the strength of Max Strasiser’s arm. The quarterback hit Brandon Watkins from
35-yards and a marvelous catch for the touchdown.
But it wasn’t nearly enough against Ligonier Valley.
“We’ve matured as a team this season. Our kids have learned that football is a series of ups and downs,” Beitel said.
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